‘Starlink’, What is it?
Why is it called so? Woah it sounds like StarWars!
Data Communications and Computer Networks- it’s one of my subjects this semester. Therein I was reading about TCP/IP suite and satellite internet providers. As soon as I thought of satellite web, Starlink flew in my psyche. I knew about the SpaceX Starlink project but wasn’t completely aware of the uniqueness of this incredible satellite internet constellation. It made me inquisitive, and here I am penning it down in this blog.
For its name, Elon Musk tweeted-“If anyone is curious, the name was inspired by The Fault in Our Stars.”
On the 24th of May 2019, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 loaded up with 60 satellites into space. This marked the start of their ambitious new project called Starlink that aims to supply high-quality broadband internet to the most isolated parts of the planet, while also providing low latency connectivity to already well-connected cities.
What’s this word-’latency’ about?
Let’s touch on the notion of latency. It estimates the delay between two processes. For instance, the time it takes between clicking on a web page and when the page is displayed.
Well, SpaceX says the lag in the Starlink space network would be around 20 milliseconds- pretty enough to play the fastest games online and on par with ground-based services like fiber-optic broadband.
How is such low latency expected to be achieved?
Low latency can be accomplished in the light of the fact that these satellites are much closer to Earth, with most sitting 550 km or 340 miles above the planet’s surface whereas many others are a minimum of 1000 km out.
And what’s with this massive number of satellites which is required for this project? Why are they intending to get such an outsized network of satellites up in space?
Remember, these satellites are much closer to the planet when contrasted with the geostationary ones. This implies that each one of them will only be able to cover a small part of the Earth as it moves around. Now, this is why a lot of satellites are needed for a constellation like Starlink, as there always must be another satellite passing overhead to continue the connection. That’s why SpaceX plans to place 12000 into orbit and possibly as many as 42000 at some point. 893 operational satellites (and two test satellites) have been launched out of which 51 operational satellites deorbited, so a total of 842 operational satellites (and two test satellites) are currently in the orbit (src: Wikipedia, 24 October 2020).
The expectations from this project are quite high however there are certain challenges that are quite a concern to this network’s viability. They include issues of light pollution and space debris. SpaceX is working towards the mitigation of these problems and proposing acceptable solutions for them like the introduction of a new sunshade designed to reduce the brightness of the satellites.
Okay! So, Starlink might be the ultimate key to the global broadband internet network quest that could prove to be a boon to the ever revolutionizing world and open a wide range of possibilities beyond imagination if only be the upcoming challenges hacked effectively and sustainably.
